25 years ago: Laudromat owners let flood victims do their laundry for free

Some members of the Flory family were doing their part in helping Lone Star residents affected by the recent flooding by letting them wash their clothes for free at their laundromats. "We tried to ask several people what we could do to help, but there were so many people out there that all you could do was get muddy and in the way," explained Stan Flory, owner of the Hillcrest Laundromat, 925 Iowa. "So we just decided to help out this way." Stan's father Calvin said that several flooding victims had also visited his laundry, the Bungalo Easy Wash, 19th and Haskell. "Some of them just bring [clothes] in drawers," Calvin said. "And some of them take them to the car wash first to wash them down. It's really bad out there." Lone Star residents could also visit Landon Flory's laundry in Commerce Plaza to wash their loads for free.

Cloudy skies hovered over the first day of the Independence Days festival at Burcham Park today. Thousands of visitors came to the park for the exhibits, demonstrations, food booths, games, and music available for 12 hours on the first day of the sixth annual celebration. Fifty crafts exhibitors, 35 food merchants, and dozens of musicians were providing the entertainment for guests. A crowd estimated between 8,000 and 9,000 thronged to the stage area to hear Chet Atkins in an evening concert opened by Lawrence's Mackender-Hunt Band.

New officers took the reins at the local Salvation Army this week. Auxiliary Captains John and Eve Churchill began their work almost five months after a decision from national headquarters had removed the former officer after his marital separation.